Gene Lyons: Heretical ideas on education | Arkansas Blog

Gene Lyons: Heretical ideas on education | Arkansas Blog:

Gene Lyons: Heretical ideas on education

Posted by Max Brantley on Wed, Nov 16, 2011 at 6:51 AM

Gene Lyons, who's been covering education for decades and is a former college professor himself, writes this week about some heretical ideas regarding education.

1) Though problems no doubt exist,

Despite melodramatic pronouncements to the contrary by sundry politicians, tycoons, tycoon/politicians and media-enhanced “reformers” like former Washington, DC schools chancellor Michelle Rhee, the available evidence shows American students performing steadily better on standardized assessments of educational progress over the past 30 years.

2) Noting Tennessee's inexplicable teacher evaluation system which purports to quantify the